Monthly Archives: February 2018

I learn something new from every investigation and this one was no different. The Ribeyre Gymnasium was the perfect location for a ghost hunt. Built in 1924 to serve as the sports center for the local New Harmony school system, the gymnasium has witnessed a tremendous amount of history during the past century.

The gymnasium was only a year old when a tragic F5 tornado swept through the nearby town of Griffin, IN, and nearly wiped the town off the face of the earth. Many of the injured and dead were brought to New Harmony, with the gymnasium being used as a temporary morgue.

Since that time, strange occurrences have been reported. People often hear voices, footsteps, and doors slamming in empty rooms and the apparitions of two children have been seen frequently. During my first Sweethearts Ghost Hunt investigation at the gymnasium, many of us witnessed a child poking his/her head out of the bathroom door. Others saw movement on the balcony. While we didn’t visually witness the apparitions during this investigation, we had enough experiences to validate the haunting of the Ribeyre Gymnasium.

After a presentation and a lasagna dinner, we divided into two groups of 12 people. Crystal Folz, my friend who has helped me with many other events, took one group to the Annex building, while I took another group of 12 to the basement. Assisting us with the night was Paula Bundy, my childhood friend who helps me with my events and Shannon DeLap, my local New Harmony friend.

Basement – Small Room at the base of the stairs

My group started out together in the small room in the basement at the foot of the stairs. I wanted them to experience an EVP session together before we divided into two smaller groups. I passed around my dowsing rods to let everyone experience them. Several people were blown away by how the rods move on their own. I then pulled out some of my equipment, including my Mel Meter and KII meter, which measures electromagnetic energy fluctuations, which can sometimes signify a ghostly presence. As soon as we introduced the meters, especially the KII, I had everyone turn their cell phones onto airplane mode. When our phones search for signals or receive data, it can cause the KII meter to register. Knowing that everyone’s phones were discontinued from getting a signal gave us the confidence to know that all readings on the meter were legitimate.

Two members of our group came with a plethora of equipment. Al and Judy traveled from northern Indiana and spent the day walking around New Harmony, taking in the sights. One of the gadgets they brought was a Phasmabox program they ran off a tablet. (http://www.extremesenses.com/software/phasmabox.htm).

It took Al and Judy a few minutes to get the device running, so I asked the group if they could feel the ghosts coming into the room. Several members of our group have had profound paranormal experiences and attended to gain more insight.

As soon as the Phasmabox was operating, we started getting strange responses. This program apparently scans online radio stations and works similarly to the Spirit Box without the choppiness.

Here’s an example of what we heard. After about twenty seconds it said, “This in twenty seconds.” It wasn’t in response to a question. It just said it. None of us could make it out at the time. I had to section it out and listen to it with headphones to make it out.

Judy said, “What did you want to ask us?” The device said, “Are you happy?” What I found to be strange was the fact that the voice that responded sounded very similar to me, even though I didn’t say a word.

Al then asked how many were in the room with us. It immediately answered, “Six.” Judy then asked if they could tell us their names. A female voice came through and said, “Two men with us.”

I honestly wasn’t sure what to make of the Phasmabox. Many of the sounds it made were nonsensical. We couldn’t understand what it was saying, but other times, it was as clear as day. One person asked if they lived in New Harmony. The response was, “Been around.”

After almost a half hour, I took half the group to the large area in the basement that has the dirt floor. Paula stayed with the remainder of the group and continued with the Phasmabox.

As soon as my group was gone, the Phasmabox said a few things that made no sense, but then said very clearly, “We’ve lost some.” Was it referring to the fact that half our group left?

They also had a strange response come through that no one understood at the time. It might just be my ears hearing this, but I swear the Phasmabox said, “We want Joni Mayhan to talk to us.” Listen for yourself and let me know what you think.

The group continued to ask questions and during one of the lulls in responses, my digital recorder caught this beauty. “I said, who farted?” If we hadn’t been getting some pretty relevant responses to this point, I would have sworn this was a lark, but it’s hard to dismiss.

The group asked my favorite question and got a great response. I always hold up several fingers and ask them how many fingers they see. I do this for several reasons. Firstly, I want to know if they can actually see us. Secondly, I want to validate the responses we are getting from our ITC devices. There is a lot of skepticism regarding the Spirit Box, so validation is important. Al held up two fingers and asked the question. “Two,” was the very eery response.

After twenty minutes, I brought my group back and had Paula’s group switch places with me.

As soon as my group settled back into the small room, I noticed that one of the recently vacated chairs was making ticking sounds. While it is natural for the chairs to ease back into position after someone gets up from them, the sounds continued long after it should have. I commented to the group about it. Upon audio review, I learned that we caught an EVP at that moment. A whispery voice said, “Chairs tick!” right after I finished speaking.

I was determined to show them how amazing the Spirit Box is when it’s working, so I turned it back on for a few rounds of questions. We went around the group several times and the only response we got was a male voice, telling us to “go!”

When it was Crystal’s group’s turn in the basement, they divided up immediately. Shannon took half the group to the large room, while Crystal stayed in the small room at the base of the stairs with the rest of the group. Crystal’s group immediately began getting hits on the KII meter, which could signify a ghostly presence. This was the first time the meter had blinked all night. Crystal made sure everyone’s cell phones were turned off.

They began using it as a tool for communicating. It came on when they asked if it was a male but didn’t answer any more questions. They moved onto the dowsing rods. They learned:

They were talking to a male – he said he wasn’t young

He was frightened

He was from Griffin

When they asked if he lived on a farm, they got two responses, one from the dowsing rod and an EVP.

After a while, they stopped getting responses. They did what my group did earlier in the same spot and began chatting about the paranormal. Sometimes backing away from the investigation and lightening the mood gives them the courage to move closer. Using the dowsing rods, they asked if someone was preventing them from answering. The rods answered “no.”

They started to move their chairs to make room for Shannon’s group, who weren’t getting any results, and the KII lights started going off again.

Crystal asked if all the movement was stirring them up and the meter flashed again.

One member of the group began asking questions about the Griffin tornado. She told them that she had once been through a tornado too and asked if they were scared when it happened. The digital recorder picked up a faint EVP that said, “I don’t know.” The voice was male and sounded like an adult. The dowsing rods began moving towards yes but paused at the same time they recorded the EVP.

Large Room with the Dirt Floor in the Basement

When my group was in the basement, Paula took half the group into the larger room with the dirt floor. As soon as they turned on the Phasmabox, a girl’s voice came through. The group thought she said, “Someone help me,” but upon later review, I couldn’t really make out what she said. It almost sounded like, “someone there” but it wasn’t clear enough to consider a valid response. Seconds later, Judy asked, “What do you need help with?” A female voice said, “Help me.” They misinterpreted it at the time as “everything.”

They continued to talk to the Phasmabox and got quite a few responses that were difficult to interpret. They asked it to make the lights change on the KII device and it flickered to yellow. Al told them to make it go red and a voice came through and said “green.”

When it was my turn to bring a group into the dirt-floor room, we started with a Spirit Box session but received no responses after a few minutes, so we turned it off. We ended up just sitting and talking while running the audio recorder. We didn’t record any EVPs but had a good conversation about the ghosts in the building.

Crystal’s Group in the Dirt-Floor Room

Crystal’s group found the larger room to be fairly quiet too. They passed around the dowsing rods and began getting some interesting responses.

Dowsing Rod responses:

They don’t consider it to be a quiet place

There were several ghosts there

The group began hearing voices talking, so Crystal checked with the other basement group, who said they were also hearing voices. It could have been from my group upstairs, but we were in the far end of the Annex. She decided to just monitor it since she couldn’t find a source of the voices. They continued with the dowsing rods.

They were afraid to talk to them (slow yes)

They were talking to a child

It wasn’t a little girl

There were more than one of them

They were siblings

He was there with his sister (slow yes)

They were from the 1920’s (fast yes)

His father worked there (also confirmed with a faint EVP that said “yeah”)

He played at the banks of the Wabash River

He liked to go swimming in the Wabash River

He helped his dad a lot

He liked to help his dad (fast yes)

His dad didn’t work on the ferry

His dad worked in town in New harmony (fast yes)

His dad worked in a shop

Shannon’s Group in the Dirt-Floor Room

Shannon’s turn in the larger room was similar to the rest of our experiences. As with every group, they were fascinated by the foundation and structure. Shannon commented that it almost looked like they were in an episode of Stranger Things.

They started off with a Spirit Box session. Everyone asked very good questions but didn’t get any responses. During the middle of the session, Crystal came into the room to ask them if they were also hearing people talking. Shannon told her that they were hearing voices too but couldn’t pinpoint the location of where the voices were coming from. The room suddenly grew colder, something everyone in the group felt.

After several minutes, one of the members of the group felt something poke her shoulder. The room seemed to grow even colder. Shannon reported she also felt something touch her leg and wondered if someone was standing between the two of them.

During their session, they noticed that the lights would periodically dim. They began attempting to use the lights for interaction, asking the ghosts to dim the lights. While the lights did appear to dim, the reaction was too delayed to consider it as a valid response.

Shannon also felt something move the recorder. It happened after Rosemary asked if they were from Griffin, so she wondered if it was a response to the question.

Annex

We were all stunned to realize that the Annex was the most active spot in the entire building. I went in with a preconceived notion that I would find more ghosts in the basement than anywhere else, but I was wrong.

Crystal’s group was the first group to investigate this room. She started out by explaining the equipment to everyone and showed them how to use the dowsing rods. She set up the laser grid and directed it so it shone against the far wall. If something walked through the light grid, it’s easier to see.

She then explained how the Spirit Box worked and gave them a quick demonstration. She also explained how the KII and Ghost Meter worked and instructed everyone to turn their cell phones on airplane mode so they wouldn’t interfere.

They then settled in for a dowsing rod session. Here’s what they learned:

He/she was a child

He/she didn’t grow up here. Crystal explained that the Owens often brought orphans into their group (the Harmonists did this too) so they might not understand the question.

He was a boy (I also got a very faint EVP “yes” here on the digital recorder.

He likes to go outside and play

He didn’t have any pets

He wasn’t originally from New Harmony (this was a good questions because it confirmed an earlier response)

Several people heard a woman’s voice towards the back of the room, so they began directing questions towards her.

She confirmed she was a woman

She confirmed that she just spoke aloud

Crystal sent Shannon into the gymnasium to get the pinwheel and explained to the group that some of the older souls residing there weren’t comfortable with our electronic gear and might be more inclined to communicate by spinning the pinwheel. As they settled back into the session, there was a strange moaning sound in the background. It almost sounded like an animal moaning. No one in the group heard it at the time.

Several people began seeing shadows moving in the gymnasium by the stage through the open door.

They continued with the dowsing rods, directing questions towards the woman. They noticed that when she answered, the dowsing rods responded in a different manner than they had when they talked to the boy, regardless of who was holding them. Only one rod would cross this time.

She didn’t remember the man who used to fix the clock

She likes hanging around the gymnasium

She wasn’t from New Harmony

She came with someone to New Harmony

Crystal then turned on the Spirit Box, but continued to use the dowsing rods.

The person was from Griffin (dowsing rods)

There were no responses on the Spirit Box

Crystal then divided the group and sent half the group up to Attic #1 with Shannon and gave them fifteen minutes to see what they could find.

She continued with the dowsing rods:

The woman moved here for a job

She lived in New Harmony

She didn’t live on a farm (this was also confirmed by a faint EVP that said “didn’t”)

She worked in New Harmony

They began noticing the chair clicks at that point. The other group had already been gone for over ten minutes, so the chair shouldn’t have still been settling.

She wasn’t a coach for any of the athletic groups

They asked if the boy was still there and got a “yes” response on the dowsing rods

He confirmed that he was playing with the chairs

He likes causing trouble

He’s the one who peeks out of the bathroom

There are other children there with him

Tracy had a video camera pointed on the bathroom door and asked if the boy would peek out of the doorway for her camera. He said yes via the dowsing rods.

Shannon came back down with the first group and brought the second group up to the attic.

Crystal continued with the dowsing rods with the other half of the group who had been in the attic.

The woman didn’t come to the event with someone in the group

When they asked if she was a child, the rod wavered back and forth (young woman?)

She didn’t like to play sports

She wasn’t an indoor person

She had something else she wanted to tell them

She wanted to tell them something about herself

When asked if she had unfinished business, the rods responded with a “yes” but went very slowly

There is someone she needs to talk to (fast yes)

The person is a member of her family (fast yes)

The family member was in the room

Crystal is a psychic medium and began picking up on the fact that the person probably was there with a member of the group and not a ghost hanging around the building. While she was reluctant to do a reading, she let the event run its course.

She was there with a male

She wanted to tell the male that she loved him

The male was her son

At that point, the woman realized the spirit who was talking to them was her husband’s deceased mother. It was an emotional moment for the woman and her husband, but they wanted to push through it and get as much information as possible. Crystal made sure both of them were comfortable continuing, so they did.

The woman confirmed her name

She knew her son was loved and well cared for now

Her husband took the rods and began communicating with his mother.

She knows that he’s okay

She’s at peace

She’s a little worried about him (dowsing rods responded slowly)

She knows that he loves her (fast yes)

Crystal then talked to the group about what they’d just experienced. One person said she felt validated after having experiences all her life. They were all amazed at the experience, having used the dowsing rods themselves and seeing how they moved.

Joni’s Group in the Annex

My group was the second group in the Annex building. As soon as we sat down, I told everyone to keep an eye out on the bathroom doorways. During the last investigation, a handful of us saw a head peek out of the doorway. I also explained that the ice machine in the kitchen often dumps a load of ice into the bin, making a loud crashing noise.

We started the session and I asked if there was anyone there who wanted to communicate with us. Immediately, the ice machine made a crashing noise that caused us all to laugh.

We started a Spirit Box session and got an immediate response. I asked if they could spin the pinwheel we had on the floor and a female voice said, “no.” I bring out the pinwheel because we had some luck with it at another investigation. I like to provide low tech options to them as well as our high-tech gadgets.

Al and Judy had a lot of equipment, so I invited them to bring out their SB-11 Spirit Box. The model I use is the SB-7. The SB-11 is essentially two of my devices put together. They scan simultaneously, one scanning backwards and the other scanning forwards, to prevent any radio interference. The results were a mixed bag. While we did seem to get some responses, they were too faint to make out, even later with headphones on.

After a few minutes of this, I decided to take four people up to the first attic to see what we could find up there.

Paula stayed with the other half of the group and they continued using the SB-11 Spirit Box.

In reviewing the audio recorded during this session, it was difficult to understand some of the responses. The SB-11 seems to produce so much white noise; it’s hard to hear the voices.

Someone asked if they were married. A male voice said, “I am.”

“Did you ever go swimming in the Wabash?” Paula asked. “No,” was the faint response.

I came back down a few minutes later and Paula took her group to the attic. I left my SB-7 Spirit Box running. I also left my flashlight up there. As soon as her group got up to the attic, they sat down and asked if anyone was there. The flashlight came on immediately.

Someone asked what his name was and the response was amusing. “Pony Boy,” a voice on the Spirit Box said. Was he a big fan of The Outsiders?

The flashlight remained off until someone asked if they liked playing with it. It immediately came on for the second time.

Some time went on and the flashlight remained off. Someone asked if they liked it when I brought groups there and it came back on.

It remained off until someone asked if they could turn it on again. It immediately came back on, and then stayed off.

“Are there seven people with you?” someone asked. They heard something, but couldn’t make it out. “Is that a yes?” he asked. “Yes,” was the clear response.

I went upstairs and brought the group back to the Annex building, where Al had his Phasmabox going again. We all rejoined the group and started asking questions.

“Do you know what color my car is? Did you see me drive up?” I asked. It responded with “yellow” immediately. It was the wrong answer because my car is red, but the fact that it provided an actual color was interesting to me. Was this really working?

I took a group up to Attic #1 and when I returned, I decided to work with the dowsing rods. I was feeling there were two females there and the dowsing rods confirmed this. I noticed Kylie staring at my chair with a look of horror on her face, so I stopped and asked her what was wrong. Apparently, after I sat my phone on the empty chair beside me, it started skittering down the seat. I was able to duplicate it once, but it wouldn’t do it again. I don’t necessarily think it was paranormal, but it was pretty creepy the way it moved and stopped, moved and stopped.

Al turned back on his Phasmabox and let it run for a while. After someone asked what his name was, he said, “It’s Houston.”

Still not convinced the program was really the afterlife speaking to us, I decided to test it. I asked questions that only had one answer. I asked what town we were in and didn’t get a response. I held up three fingers and asked how many fingers I was holding up. No response. There have been many times when I’ve wondered if some of the communication we’ve had come through the Spirit Box, and in the Phasmabox, were coming though the machine, almost like “ghost telephones.” I often ask direct questions to test this theory and I’ve only had a correct response twice, both while I was living in Massachusetts. Was it possible we were just talking “long distance” to someone in the spirit world? I’m not sure but I’ll definitely keep asking.

After a few more minutes, we broke for break.

Attic #1 (to the left of the stage)

Shannon brought two groups up to the first attic. During her first session, she felt someone rubbing her neck and back. Another person felt very wobbly up there and reported having a difficult time trying to breathe. This is something the group from the previous week also experienced. The flight of stairs is relatively short, so it wouldn’t be normal for people to be winded. They discussed it at length and said that the sensation was abnormal for them. The entire group heard what sounded like a piano playing several notes. They didn’t hear it again.

Joni’s Attic #1 Group

I brought a small group up to the first attic. We decided to use the flashlight to communicate.

We learned that we were talking to a male. No response when we asked his age. We doubled back and asked if we were talking to a female – no response, but when we asked if it was a male, the light came on. We stopped getting responses on the flashlight so I turned on my Spirit Box. We got a few slight responses, but the heating unit clicked on at that point, so any EVPs we might have gotten were drowned out.

Gymnasium

After our final break, the entire group investigated the gymnasium together. Due to the acoustics, we couldn’t have a group in the gymnasium while there was a group in the basement. We tested this during our test-run investigation and heard every footstep echo loudly in the basement below.

I set up several divination tools on tables around the room, inviting people to experiment with them. Included in this experiment were Rune Stones, pendulums, and a scrying mirror. Rick had some interesting results with the scrying mirror. The mirror itself is simply a black mirror that you stare at, hoping to see something appear in the mirror. Rick sat with the mirror facing the balcony in the gymnasium, a spot where children have been seen running up and down the old bleachers. He thought he saw movement in the balcony area as he used the mirror.

In the meantime, our four group leaders took small groups up to the stage area and to the second attic for small EVP sessions.

Shannon brought a group to the stage and did a ten-minute Spirit Box session. The group asked some very compelling questions but didn’t get any valid responses.

Attic #2 (to the right of the stage)

Crystal brought a small group up to the second attic and did a ten-minute Spirit Box session. Someone asked what their names were and a voice responded, “Mark.” The voice sounded high-pitched, as though it belonged to a child or young man. One member of the group thought the voice sounded like it said, “Kirk” and began directing questions to Kirk. There were no more responses which might be due to the incorrect name. The heater clicked on at that point which obliterated any further responses.

Conclusion

As the night drew to a close, we sat in a large circle in the gymnasium and discussed the evening. We did a brief Spirit Box session and only got one interesting response. I asked if they knew what day of the week it was and a voice said, “Sunday.” It was actually Saturday, but we were only ten minutes away from Sunday, so they weren’t off by much. I then went around the circle and asked everyone to tell us their favorite part of the evening.

Everyone had some sort of experience. It ranged from the young man who communicated with his mother to someone seeing shapes move on the balcony. Here are some of the highlights:

Rosemary heard a piano play in Attic #1. It was just a few notes, but was interesting.

When Shannon did a Spirit Box session on the stage, she said goodnight and they said “goodnight” back to them. She also felt someone touch her back in Attic #1.

Paula was amazed at the KII hits in the basement. We’ve never had much luck with it before there.

The dowsing rods crossed at the same time the lights flickered for one person. This happened several times.

Others were amazed at the relevant responses we got with dowsing rods, spirit box and the Phasmabox

Rick watched something moving in the balcony several times

Several people enjoyed the paranormal experiences because they helped them validate other events that have happened to them in their lives.

Thank you to everyone who attended the event. Special thanks go to Crystal Folz, Paula Bundy and Shannon DeLap for all your help making this event so successful.

What better way to spend Valentine’s Day weekend than go on a ghost hunt? This was our intention as we hosted a Sweethearts Ghost Hunt at the Ribeyre Gymnasium in New Harmony, Indiana.

The Ribeyre Gymnasium was used during the filming of the 1992 film A League of their Own (see screenshot on the screen in the photo above) and is home to many of New Harmony’s festivals, including Christmas in New Harmony. It also has a fairly dark history.

After a F-5 tornado swept through the area in 1925 and nearly wiped out the nearby town of Griffin, Indiana, the gymnasium was used as a temporary morgue to hold the bodies. Since that time, strange occurrences have been reported at the gymnasium. Phantom children have been seen racing up the bleachers, footsteps and strange sounds have been heard, just to name a few.

Our first Sweethearts Ghost Hunt was quite memorable. Every single person in attendance had some sort of strange experience they couldn’t explain. Some of them were quite profound.

After a delicious lasagna dinner and a history presentation by your’s truly, we divided up into two groups to explore the building.

My group consisted of my friends from the Vincennes Animal Shelter in nearby Vincennes, Indiana. My sister Leah works at this shelter and I frequently visit her and paint murals of animals on their walls, so I know the ladies there well. In that group were: Angie Stanley and her husband Bill. Angie’s daughter, Samantha Monroe, her husband Chris, and fellow co-worker Kim Geheb. Shannon DeLap, my local friend who helped me with the event, also joined our group.

The second group was led by Meagan Patterson. Many may recognize Meagan from Community House #2, where she assists Amanda Bryden who is the Site Manager. Meagan and Amanda have co-hosted several events with Haunted New Harmony at their State Sites. Meagan’s group consisted of Eric and Rachel Maurer, who joined us in October at our Community House #2 investigation, and Dina Reid, along with her husband Dustin. Paula Bundy, my lifelong friend who helped me with the event, joined their group, as well.

The Annex Building

My group started in the Annex portion of the building.

The Annex building is connected to the gymnasium but is separated by a wall. It is often used for community events and festivals. It’s always a happy space, filled with laughter and entertainment. It is long and narrow with floors that are tiled in a checkerboard pattern. At the very end of the room is a bar and doorway that leads to the kitchen. Further beyond that are two bathrooms.

We had barely sat down when we heard a strange sound. It almost sounded like something banging into something else. When I reviewed the audio, I realized that the sound also came with an EVP. I can hear a man’s voice saying “I want.”

We brought out the Spirit Box and began getting more responses. When someone asked if we were talking to a boy or a girl, a male voice said, “Jehovah.”

We continued to get strange responses. When someone asked if they were alone, someone said, “Something talk.” When some asked why they were there, we got a response from the same voice said, “Checkpoint.”

I was sitting with my back to the door, facing the bathrooms. As I watched the bathroom doorways, I saw a small head peek out from the doorway and then pop back into the bathroom. It’s so rare to actually see the ghosts; I was amazed to have actually experienced what I was feeling.

I decided to break things up and took a small group up to the second-floor attic area to the left of the stage.

While I was gone, they started realizing that the chairs we vacated began ticking all of a sudden. The sound they made was the same sound the chair makes when someone sits down. They began asking if someone was sitting there.

After a few minutes of silence, Angie said, “Just let us know you’re here.” The same male voice said, “Let me see,” as if he needed to check with someone first.

Angie had a lot of responses to her questions. She’s very easygoing in nature, so this didn’t surprise me. Ghosts usually pick their favorites and Angie was it. When she asked if they had any kids, a male voice said, “There’s more.”

Angie had another strange response to her questions. She asked “What’s your name?” A male voice said, “Repatine.” If anyone knows what this means, please let me know. I looked it up and couldn’t find any information about it.

While Shannon was sitting with the group, she felt someone push her chair. It was enough to propel her forward, almost to the point of pushing her right out of her chair. Everyone in the group witnessed it and was a bit unnerved by the experience.

Not long after that happened, Angie felt someone tap her shoulder several times. She turned, expecting to find someone behind her, but no one was there. As she turned around, she swore she saw something move in the corner, but it disappeared too quickly for her to make it out.

When my group came down from the attic, I immediately noticed the chairs making the same ticking sound, so I started using it to determine if the sound was coincidental or paranormal. You never know when you’re in a haunted building. The ghosts often choose their own methods of communicating.

When I asked if they were a male, there was no response. When I asked if the ghost was a woman, the chair immediately ticked.

I was elated, but still a bit skeptical. We continued to ask questions and the chair would make the same sound instantly after the question was asked but remained quiet otherwise. We learned that we had two females with us, one was a child and the other was a woman. The child said she went to school in New Harmony and had gym classes in the building. The woman didn’t respond when we asked if she was a parent or teacher. She did tell us she had brothers and sisters but wasn’t married. We asked if they played sports here and the child responded with a tick. When we went through all the sports, she said she played soccer, which was surprising. I didn’t think soccer was popular back then. I will have to check with several town historians to see if this is accurate or if we had a trickster on our hands.

Meagan’s group also saw someone peeking out of the bathroom and kitchen doorways. Nearly everyone in the group witnessed it and was astounded to actually see something paranormal. They played music from the 1920’s era in hopes of getting a response but didn’t have any luck. They also noticed the chairs ticking and thought it was strange, but didn’t attempt to communicate.

I’m always careful to not tell the new group anything that happened to us before they have a chance to experience it for themselves. I’m glad I didn’t because Dina and Dustin also saw the ghost poke its head out of both the bathroom doorway and the kitchen doorway. Both of them were astounded by what they saw. Getting to actually see an apparition isn’t something that usually happens on investigations. I’ve been on hundreds of them and have only had this happen to me four times in total.

They turned on the Spirit Box for a round of questions but had technical difficulties. Unfortunately, I neglected to fully explain the placement of the Spirit Box. It ended up too close to the digital recorder so I couldn’t pull any clear EVPs from the recorded audio. We’ll make sure we get this right the next time. Despite the technical difficulties, the group all had profound experiences in the Annex building.

Attic #1

I brought a small group (Sam, Chris, and Kim) up to the first attic. As soon as we sat down, we started hearing taps on the window. At first, I thought it might just be the wind, so I started testing it.

“If it’s you tapping on the window, can you do it again?” I asked. There was an immediate tap on the window.

The window remained silent until we asked another question. I asked if it was okay for us to be up there and received an immediate response.

The heater clicked on almost as soon as we got started. The sound cut out most other sounds in the small space. Soon after, the other heater clicked on and the sound was almost deafening. If we captured any EVPs during this time, they were washed out by the ambient sounds of the heaters.

Some asked if they could tap on the window again. The window had remained quiet up until that point but we got an immediate tap.

I turned on my iOvilus and after a few minutes, it spit out the word “object.” It had no relevance to what we were talking about, so I dismissed it as being a random word.

Sam asked how many of them were in the building and the iOvilus said, “Legion.” This was a bit startling for me because the word “Legion” typically signifies demons, as referenced in the Bible.

“You can knock that right off,” I said. I knew there weren’t any demons in the attic. Sometimes nasty ghosts will say things like that to scare us but it wasn’t working with me.

“Come,” it said next. Legions come? That sounded a little more frightening than I was comfortable with. It didn’t scare me because I knew there weren’t demons there. Demons feel far different to me than human ghosts, which was what we were dealing with. Was it just random words being spit out by a phone app or was it someone trying to frighten us? I wasn’t sure, but with the heaters on, we weren’t really able to fully communicate anyway, so I ended the session and we returned to the Annex building to rejoin the rest of the group.

I left the recorder running and sat it on a chair. It took the next group several minutes to make their way up to the attic. Nothing was recorded during the absence of investigators except for the heaters.

The next group came up with the Spirit Box to see if they could get any communication. This group was led by Shannon. Angie and Bill joined her. They asked if there was anyone with them and a voice responded, “I’m home!”

Meagan’s group also had some interesting experiences in Attic #1.

As they climbed the short flight of stairs, none of them felt like they could breathe. Several people in the group felt the same way the entire time they were up there. That struck me as interesting because I felt the same way when I was up there. I blamed it on a winter full of inactivity and the fact that I’m out of shape, but others felt the same way. Dina said they actually felt more uncomfortable the longer they were up there. Rachel agreed that it was very difficult to breathe.

Something else happened that was unexplainable. As soon as they sat down, the bare bulb on the ceiling flickered on briefly before turning back off. The light was turned off, so this was a bit surprising for all of them.

They did a Spirit Box session in the attic. Dustin asked if they would tell him their names and a low voice came through. What’s interesting was that the sound wasn’t caught by the digital recorder even though everyone in the room heard it.

As the group was leaving the attic area, Rachel and Eric were in the back of the group. As they reached the first landing, they heard the distinct sound of the chairs continuing to tick. It sounded like someone was sitting in the chair, making it move. They stood at the bottom of the stairs and listened to it. They left a digital recorder on the steps for a few minutes to see if they could capture anything. They will let me know if they do and I’ll post it here.

The Basement

Meagan’s group spent an hour in the basement. The first thing they noticed was the abrupt temperature change as they came down the stairs. They were thankful they remembered to bring jackets with them.

The basement is divided into four rooms. There is a small room at the base of the stairs that leads to two more rooms of equal size. They are separated by large hanging doors. Jutting off the middle room is the main basement area. We called this the “dirt-floor room” during the investigation because it has a dirt floor. The temperature in that room was substantially warmer too.

The bodies from the Griffin tornado were stored in the dirt-floor room, so we were expecting this to be the most active room in the entire building. While we did have some experiences, it wasn’t as haunted as several other spots in the building, which surprised me.

They did an EVP session in the first room, at the base of the stairs, but didn’t receive any EVP responses. They did have several interesting things happen though. They kept hearing a chirping sound and commented on it several times during the session, even though it wasn’t something that was picked up on the digital recorder. Rachel kept hearing the sound of fabric shifting, which wasn’t caught on the recorder either.

Dustin and Dina kept hearing sounds in the other room. It almost sounded like someone moving around, banging into things, but when they went to look, no one was there. It felt like the ghosts were there, but were hanging back.

After fifteen minutes, they brought out the Spirit Box and began asking questions. They didn’t get a single response, so they moved to another spot in the basement. While they were sitting there, they felt a sudden temperature change. The room suddenly grew substantially colder. Eric measured it on his handheld temperature recorder and confirmed the temperature drop.

They moved into the dirt-floor room. They didn’t get any responses, neither on the Spirit Box nor through EVP. They all felt as though they were being watched the entire time. Several of them thought they saw movement at the other end of the room. At one point, they were being buzzed by an insect, which is interesting since the temperature in the basement was chilly.

Meagan had a laser grid set up so it pointed down into the dark areas of the basement. A laser grid looks like one of those laser cat toys, with the exception that it has dozens of lights instead of just one. The theory behind it as a paranormal device is that it allows investigators to see movement in dark areas. If something walks across it, they will break the light grid and become more visible. As they sat there watching it, they noticed some substantial movement at the far end of the basement.

After an hour in the basement, they came upstairs and joined my group for a quick break.

When our break was over, my group went to the basement to see what we could find. We started out in the room at the base of the stairs, which I think was once used as the coach’s office.

Basements are almost always creepy. The visual effects of cobwebs and open rafters is enough to make most people anxious. In my experience, it’s usually a fairly haunted space. The dead often attempt to retreat from the living and basements provide the perfect spot for hiding.

I pulled out my flashlight to see if we could get any interactions with it. There is some controversy regarding using flashlights for paranormal investigations. The battery can arc and turn the light on randomly, which is why I always use a “cold” flashlight. I also watch the responses. If the flashlight seems to be coming on randomly, I stop using it. In this case, it was clear we were talking to someone. The light only came on after a question was asked.

As we introduced ourselves, the flashlight came on when Chris said his name. We decided to see if it was a response or not. We asked a series of questions and received no responses. When Chris asked if the ghost’s name was Christine, the light came on.

By experimenting with the method, we continued to ask her questions and learned that she was a teacher at the school and that she taught sports. She enjoyed coaching and was married. She was also happy we were there talking to her. We circled back around and asked if we were still talking to Christina and received a positive response.

After a while, we stopped getting responses, so we moved onto another piece of equipment. I pulled out my iOvilus. Normally, I don’t trust phone apps. Most of them simply spit out randomly generated words, but I’ve actually had good results with my iOvilus app.

The first time I used it was in my kitchen in my old house. As I turned it on, my cat George went to the back door and began meowing to get outside. The iOvilus spit out two consecutive words: George beg. I was fairly blown away by the response and have had positive results with it ever since.

I turned it on, but it remained silent for nearly ten minutes. Finally, it spit out the word, “salaran.” I didn’t know what that meant and had to look it up later. It means “drainage.”

After a few minutes, it said, “recuse,” which means to take back.

Then it said, “measure hundred.”

The responses didn’t make sense to me, so I’m not convinced it was paranormal, but wanted to mention it here in case it is relevant to someone who knows the history of the building.

After about twenty minutes, I decided to switch things up. I moved half the group to the big area in the basement with the dirt floor and left the other half of our group in the room right outside the doorway. Neither group received any responses in the room outside the door to the dirt-floor room.

In the dirt-floor room, we did receive several responses on the Spirit Box. When asked if they remembered the sinking of the Titanic, we heard a male voice say, “I did.”

We asked quite a few more questions without hearing any responses, so Angie asked if they were shy. The same male voice said, “yes.”

When someone asked if they liked horses, the same male voice said, “I do.” After a few more minutes, the clocktower bells rang, signaling the end of our basement session. We gladly made our way up the stairs to warm up.

The Gymnasium

After another brief break, we moved to the gymnasium. I had set up several divination methods at various stations around the room for everyone to try. Divination tools have been used for centuries to communicate with spirits and spirit guides. Included in my collection were pendulums, Runestones, and a scrying mirror.

While everyone branched off to experiment with the Divination tools, I had several smaller groups investigate the stage, while others investigated the second attic area.

Attic #2

The second attic is located to the right of the stage and is used for storage. I wasn’t even aware the room existed until the night of the investigation and was eager to explore it. Like basements, attics are often the places where the ghosts retreat to in order to get away from the living. We weren’t disappointed by what we found.

The first group brought the Spirit Box up with them. The digital recorder was placed too close to the Spirit Box, so it was difficult for me to hear the questions that were asked (as a note: always keep the digital recorder six feet away from the Spirit Box).

Some of what I was able to make out:

They were talking to a male who liked basketball.

He didn’t have kids

When they asked if he liked being there, he said, “I do.”

They asked if there was a kid up there. He responded “Just me.”

Someone doubled back and asked if he liked basketball again. “Yes,” he said.

Someone asked if he liked candy. He said, “Yes.”

They asked how old he was and he said, “fifteen.”

When they asked if he had a girlfriend, he said, “sure.”

Another group went to the second attic in a team led by Shannon Delap. They had some interesting interactions that went along with the same responses as the first team. When Shannon asked if there was anyone there, a male voice said, “I’m home.” Angie seemed to get the most responses. She asked if it was okay for them to talk to them and a male said, “I would let you” or “I’m gonna get you.” Listen to the recording below and tell me what you hear.

She followed up by asking him if he liked basketball and he said “yes.” When it was Shannon’s turn again, she asked if he liked being there and he said, “I do.”

For the last thirty minutes, we sat in a circle in the middle of the gymnasium and conducted a group session. I turned on the Spirit Box and we went around the room and asked questions. Some of the responses were funny.

I told them they could walk around the room and show themselves if they wanted to. A male’s voice said, “no,” in a way that made us all laugh.

I asked him if he could tell us his name and he didn’t respond. This is typical of a normal investigation. It seems to be the favorite question for investigators to ask but is one that usually goes unanswered. I’ve often wondered about this. Are they not supposed to tell us their names? Or have they been gone so long they’ve forgotten?

As these thoughts were going through my mind, someone else asked the same question again (we were all getting tired at this point) and a man’s voice said, “I’m Herman.” It was warbled and not as clear as I would like to hear, but it was understandable. Who was Herman? Was he a student there or just someone who wandered in from somewhere else?

Someone asked what he did for a living. A woman responded, “living.”

I turned off the Spirit Box, mostly because the noise becomes grating after a while. We set up several EMF detectors and a flashlight in the middle of the room, but they wouldn’t touch them. I added a pinwheel to the mix, but they didn’t touch it either.

It was clear that the ghosts were growing tired, but I still had a half hour with the group and didn’t want to just sit around and stare at each other. I decided to move one of the helium balloons that were used for table decorations into the center of the circle. It definitely moved and began spinning in a slow circle, but it was difficult to determine if it was paranormal or just normal. The ceiling fans were spinning and the air current was moving around the room fairly steadily. The other balloons that were still on the tables were moving too, but not as erratically as the one in the middle.

I told them if they could make the balloon drop to the ground, they would probably cause a few of us to pee our pants. As soon as I said that, the flashlight came on, making everyone laugh.

We did another round of questions but didn’t receive any responses on the gadgets I had in the middle of the floor, so I pulled the Spirit Box back out.

Several people asked questions that went unanswered. Then, Angie asked if they ever went to dances at the gym. A female voice said, “I’m coming.”

After a few more minutes, I turned it back off and asked everyone to tell me their most interesting moments of the night. Everyone had something to contribute.

Most of them agreed that the most active areas were the Annex building, Attic #1 and the first room at the base of the stairs in the basement.

The bell went off at midnight and we all jumped, even though we should have expected it after hearing it mark the hours all night. The evening was over but the memories will remain with us for a long time.

I want to thank everyone who came out to the event. Special thanks goes to Meagan Patterson, who led a group, and to Paula Bundy and Shannon DeLap, who helped me throughout the event.

(Above) The Ribeyre Gymnasium – 603 Main Street, New Harmony, IN

No matter where you are in New Harmony, you can hear the clock tower on the Ribeyre Gymnasium mark the hours. The resounding rings echo through the town, paying homage to the passage of time. Even if I’m aware of the time, I still find myself pausing to count the rings. In some ways, it feels like a moment of unity because no matter where we are when it chimes, we are all focused on the same thing.

The Ribeyre Gymnasium was built in 1924 to provide the local school with a facility for sporting activities. It was extensively renovated within the past ten years, with the renovation budget topping over a million dollars. It is a bright sun-lit space with gleaming golden floors and soaring ceilings. It is the site of many weddings, banquets and receptions, having the capacity to seat 600 people. It was even used for filming several scenes of the 1992 movie A League of Their Own.

(Above) A scene from the movie A League of Their Own

When you walk into the space, it brings you back to an earlier era, but beneath the happy façade lingers a horrific memory.

The gymnasium was barely a year old when it became used for something no one would have imagined.

On Wednesday, March 18th, 1925, a massive category 5 tornado cut a 219 mile path through three states. It completely demolished the town of Griffin, which is located several miles away from New Harmony.

(Above) A sign in nearby Griffin, IN, documenting the tragic events of the past

The storm seemed to come out of nowhere, catching the residents by surprise. Some of them attempted to seek shelter in nearby homes and businesses but were crushed by the rubble as the buildings collapsed all around them. Children on their way home from school on the school bus were also victims of the tragedy, as the bus tumbled end over end, becoming airborne at one point. All in all, fifty-two people died that day, with many more seriously injured.

Bodies were pulled from the debris and carried to wagons and carts. Since the entire town was flattened, residents looked to nearby New Harmony for help.

The brand new Ribeyre Gymnasium seemed to provide the perfect location to store the bodies until they could be identified and collected by their families. In several cases, the injuries were so severe; it was difficult to determine if the person was living or dead. One woman was carried down into the basement to be laid out with the rest of the victims. As they placed her on the ground, she began moving.

In my years of investigating the paranormal, I’ve found myself in some very unnerving locations. I’ve been in abandoned mental hospitals, old prisons and even inside empty crypts, but nothing could have prepared me for what I felt in the basement of the gymnasium.

It’s difficult to describe how energy feels to someone who is sensitive to it. We are all energetic beings and everything around us is composed of energy. When you feel the energy, it almost feels like you can detect the mood of an environment. In this case, the mood was desperately somber.

(Above) the Ribeyre Gymnasium in its early days. Photo courtesy of Workingmen’s Institute

The space was long and broad. It had a dirt floor and dusty rafters, showing the passage of time. Even though the upstairs was bright and cheery, the basement provided a clear glimpse into the building’s past.

I brought my psychic medium friend, Crystal Folz, with me and she had the same reaction. Neither of us could handle being in the space for more than a few minutes. If there was a haunting there, it was lost in the overwhelming sadness that lingered in that space.

I walked around for as long as I could handle it before I said a prayer for the lost souls and left. Coming up the stairs to the sunlight was like coming up from the depths of a deep dark lake for my first breath of air.

Stories surrounding the gymnasium often involve the appearance of children. Several people have actually witnessed them walking across the gymnasium floor. They’re also known to turn the lights on and off.

(Above) The basement of the gymnasium

This story was confirmed by Benton Frisse, who grew up in the town and shared several other stories with me.

During high school, Benton did a film project called “Haunted New Harmony”. He went around town and interviewed people about their experiences.

One of the stories he heard about involved the gymnasium.

Before the gymnasium was renovated, the old tower clock would often malfunction. A local man would go to the gym at all hours of the day and night to fix it.

He would have to climb up a rickety old ladder to reach the clock tower. “The ladder going up to the clock tower was scary. You couldn’t have paid me a hundred bucks to climb that ladder,” Benton told me.

Late one night, the man went to fix the clock. He was halfway back down the ladder when something caught his eye. He saw two children race across the bleachers.

The children looked three-dimensional, with the exception of having a slight glow. He watched them race up the bleachers and then disappear as they reached the top. As time went on, he saw them more and more. They were dressed in outfits from the 1930’s, making him wonder if they were victims of the tornado.

Another local resident named Rita also had an experience at the gymnasium. She used to teach rug hooking classes at the annex building, which is connected to the gymnasium.

“Close to the time we were going to be leaving, I looked up at the clock and it started spinning,” she told me. Both the minute hand and the hour hand were spinning around the dial, as though being pushed by invisible fingers.

She was amazed because the clock had been operating normally during the day. As they all stared in wonderment, the clock slowed down and began operating normally again.

She later asked the man who maintained the building about the clock. He told her there was no reason why the clock would do that. There weren’t any power surges in the area and the clock has never done that before.

Could it have been the work of the children? While it does seem like a prank a child might pull, it’s difficult to determine. So many lives passed through the building, it could have come from any number of sources.

(Above) An undated photo of the building that once stood on the lot where the Ribeyre Gymnasium was later built. Photo courtesy of Workingmen’s Institute

Another occurrence happened to former resident, Cathy Powers, who once owned Country Cottage Restaurant. Cathy now helps the endeavors of Posey County Pound Puppies.

When New Harmony sponsors events and festivals, Cathy often sets up a table at the Ribeyre Gymnasium to promote the cause.

“I always tell vendors the place is haunted,” she said. One of her friends told her she often saw people standing on the old platform that used to be near the front door. She would catch them out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to look at them, they would disappear.

One time, Cathy was at the gym setting up for an event and she began hearing a strange noise coming from the speakers.

“This was probably before your time, but it was like the sound the old stand-up console radios made when they were looking for a station,” she said and then demonstrated the noise. If I was expecting her to emulate a static sound, I was mistaken. The high-pitched sound she made nearly resembled aliens descending. It was enough to make the hair on the back of my neck rise.

Cathy attempted to seek out the source of the sound, but couldn’t find anything to explain it. The system wasn’t even turned on.

Rick Johnson spent many years at the Ribeyre Gymnasium. As a long-time teacher in the New Harmony school system, he was also a coach for the basketball team.

A room had been set up in the basement of the building for the coaching staff. When he was down there, he often heard noises and voices coming from the other rooms in the basement.

Every time he would get up to check, he would find the basement empty. It didn’t necessarily spook him, but it gave him an uneasy feeling nonetheless.

If you find yourself in the Ribeyre Gymnasium, pay attention to the area near the bell tower and the edges of the room. It’s possible you might catch sight of the little boy who roams there.

Joni Mayhan is a paranormal investigator and the author of 17 paranormal books. To learn more about New Harmony’s haunted history, check out her latest book Haunted New Harmony or attend one of her many Haunted New Harmony events.

Negative energy is all around us. Whether it comes from the supernatural world or from the land of the living, we all encounter it on a daily basis.

Naturally, the best way to protect yourself from negative energy is to avoid it, but this isn’t always possible. Sometimes it has a way of finding us despite our attempts to distance ourselves from it.

Forms of Negative Energy

Psychic Vampires – Some people have a unique gift of pulling energy from us while filling us with their negative energy. Many aren’t even aware they are doing it. It’s just part of their makeup. They are the kind of people who always complain about everything and attempt to pull others into their drama.

Excess Energy – While this isn’t necessarily negative energy, too much of anything isn’t good. If you are empathic and are able to feel the energy of others, you could become quickly overloaded. A prime example of excess energy is what you find at the shopping malls during the Holiday Season. There are so many people with a plethora of anxiety who are sharing the space with you. If you spend too long here, you’re bound to become overloaded.

Negative Ghosts – If people were truly aware of how many ghosts roam around the world, they would probably lose their minds. As someone who can sense and interact with ghosts, I can tell you that the number of ghosts who are earthbound is probably much higher than you think. Ghosts are much like the living. There are good ghosts and bad ghosts. They often pull energy from the living in order to sustain themselves.

The first step in protecting yourself is learning how to ground yourself.

Grounding

When we hear the term “being grounded,” we often think about people who are easy-going and are fully present in their lives. This isn’t far from the truth, but being grounded goes even deeper than what you see on the surface.

If you consider us energetic beings, which we are, you can compare this to how electrical energy flows through a circuit. It has to be grounded before the energy can move fluidly through the channels. It’s almost like turning off a light switch. The energy only travels to the point where it’s shut off. When we ground ourselves, we allow the energy to flow freely and move the excess energy to a place where it won’t impact us. I use it frequently during the day to help me remain calm and focused.

If you think about it, you’ve probably been practicing some form of grounding for most of your life. When we get frustrated with a situation, we often sigh. A sigh is a shortened version of the grounding process.

When I find myself in crowds of people, especially during the holidays, I make sure I’m grounded and protected before I even leave my house. All that erratic energy bounces around the building and you can’t help but get caught in the web. By grounding, I can reduce the effects.

Signs that you are ungrounded:

Feeling disoriented and overwhelmed

Having a strong need to get away from other people

Finding yourself daydreaming and losing touch with reality

Being agitated or feel a sense of anxiety

Craving sugar and starches

Inability to focus

How to Ground Yourself

Learning how to ground yourself is one of the easiest metaphysical practices to master. It might take you a little time to figure out what works for you, but once you get the hang of it, the results are worth the effort. Here is the way I ground myself.

Imagine a white light above you.

With every breath, pull the white light into yourself, through the top of your head.

As you exhale, imagine the white light pushing negative energy down through your feet and into the ground. Some people visualize themselves as trees with deep roots going into the ground when they do this.

Other methods of grounding:

Trees can be helpful for grounding, as well. Many people ground themselves by hugging or leaning against trees and imagining the negative energy sinking into the ground beneath them, being swept away by the roots.

Walking barefoot outdoors often helps some people to ground. Having the direct contact with the earth seems to be helpful in removing the toxins.

Meditate and ask your Spirit Guides to remove the negative energy. Imagine yourself being purified with every breath of air you take until you feel light and happy.

Burn sage and allow it to cover every part of your body, including the soles of your feet. Imagine the smoke clearing away all the negative energy, replacing it with clean, fresh joyful energy.

Grounding stones such as hematite, black tourmaline, tiger eye, onyx, jasper, green aventurine, just to name a few, are helpful to assist you in grounding yourself.

Hold the stone in your hand and envision it empowering you.

Take deep breaths, focusing on the stone in your hand.

Imagine the stone absorbing all the excess emotions.

Carry the stone in your pocket during the day and hold it when you feel the need to ground.

Find a Youtube video that works for you. There are many great guided meditations and instructions for the process of grounding. Sample several of them and pick the one that resonates with you.

Learning this technique can make a positive impact on your overall well-being. Practice it often until you are able to master the ability. The benefits are endless. You’ll regain your energy and retain your inner strength. Once you’ve learned how to ground yourself, work on learning how to protect your energy through the process of shielding.

Shielding

Shielding is the practice of creating a bubble of protective energy around you to safeguard yourself from negative energy. While there are many ways to do this, I found the following method to be effective.

Pull it up and around you like a bubble and visualize yourself filling it with white light. I do this every day, asking for it to protect me for 24 hours. If you don’t time it, the shield will only last for several hours.

Other methods of shielding

Instead of a bubble of light, build your shield with mirrors that reflect the negative emotions back towards the sender. Sometimes I imagine myself surrounded by a giant disco ball. The visualization helps me hold the shield in place longer.

Another thing you might try is to imagine that your shield is coated with Teflon or sprayed with a clear slick-resistant substance (I imagine Pam cooking spray) that causes the energy to slide off.

You might also fortify your shield with protective stones such as black tourmaline, onyx, tiger’s eye. I place them in all four corners of my house to create a physical spiritual barrier and sometimes carry them in my pocket for extra protection.

In this day, with all the negative energy floating around, it’s important to learn how to prevent it from affecting you. Give it a shot and see if it helps.